Kelly's Maurice Davis claims Class 2 state track and field title

Kelly junior Maurice Davis posted a first-place time of 10.97 seconds in the boys 100 dash to help lead the Kelly boys track and field team to a fourth-place finish at Saturday's Class 2 state meet in Jefferson City.

"We were super excited to get up on the podium as a team for boys," Kelly coach Kenneth Riedinger said. "It's a culmination of a lot of hard work in the weight room and on the track."

Davis was the only runner to cross the finish line in just under 11 seconds in the event. Adrian senior Austin Corley was second with 11.10 seconds and Malden senior Cortez Dobbins followed in third place at 11.26.

"Maurice went to work in the weight room and bought in to what we were trying to do," Riedinger said. "... He blew the state away. He ran a 10.97. He was the only kid in the 10s in that meet. We're just super excited. He ran a 10.97 at the prelims and backed it up in the finals."

Riedinger believes Davis' state title will add confidence to his game on the football field, where he'll be a senior leader for the Hawks in their second year as a program next season.

"He's not a track guy. He's a football guy that's fast," Riedinger said. "He's like (Kansas City Chiefs running back) Jamaal Charles. He's physical and well-built. ... He really just came out of nowhere on the track. He just all of a sudden really bought into the weight room, and we got him going in that. He started filling out and getting bigger, and his body just really took to it."

Kelly Sr. Dalton Huffman jumps to a runner-up finish in the Class 2 boys triple jump with a best of 43-10.5.

The top eight finishers in each event earn all-state status.

Dalton Huffman finished third in the long jump and second in the triple jump for Kelly.

"Dalton's a competitor. He knew he had to have a good jump going into the final rounds," Riedinger said. "In the long jump, he was sitting at ninth and barely made it into the finals. He didn't have a good jump in the prelims, but he gets out there and goes 21-8."

On the girls side, Dakaria Johnson took third and fifth for the Hawks in the 100 and 200, respectively, while Samantha Ratledge placed eighth in the long jump and 12th in the triple jump.

Riedinger said Ratledge has battled back from injury all season but was pleased to see her conclude her high school career with one last all-state finish.

"She was a 35-6 jumper (in the triple jump). If she's healthy this year, she probably wins the state championship in the long jump and the triple jump," Riedinger said. "We just never could get her back. ... She's super talented. As an athlete, sometimes you deal with injuries."

Kelly also finished sixth in the boys 400 relay and fifth in the girls 400 relay.

Chaffee senior Julia Sutterfield placed second in the shot put with a distance of 36 feet, 4 3/4 inches. Auggie Knutson and Trevor Morehead placed fifth and seventh, respectively, to earn all-state in the shot put on the boys side for Chaffee.

The St. Vincent 4x800-meter relay squad gets their medals after their 5th-place finish in the Class 2 4x800 in 8:26.83.

Scott City's Bella Bowers took second in the 1,600-meter run, and St. Vincent's Levi Krause had a pair of all-state finishes in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Woodland junior Zach Beel also brought home a pair of medals for the Cardinals in their program's first year. He placed seventh in both the long jump and triple jump. Coach Ryan Layton said he was extra proud of Beel's performance.

"[He] came up really big in the long jump today," Woodland coach Ryan Layton said. "He jumped a personal record by eight inches, which got him in the finals."

BOYS

Local results

100 -- 1. Maurice Davis (K) 10.97

200 -- 5. Maurice Davis (K) 22.91

1600 -- 6. Levi Krauss (SV) 4:39.07

3200 -- 4. Levi Krauss (SV) 10:11.38; 13. Garret Reynolds (W) 10:43.13

400 relay -- 6. Kelly (Dalton Huffman, Kade Proctor, Matt Burford, Maurice Davis) 44.83

3200 relay -- 5. St. Vincent (Isaac Baer, Levi Krauss, Andrew Lipe, John Lipe) 8:26.83; 13. Woodland (Brandon Sitzes, Logan Thomsen, Evan Grindstaff, Garret Reynolds) 8:41.82

Long jump -- 3. Dalton Huffman (K) 21-8 1/4; 7. Zach Beel (W) 20-8

Triple jump -- 2. Dalton Huffman (K) 43-10 1/2; 7. Zach Beel (W) 40-9 3/4

Shot put -- 5. Auggie Knutson (C) 46-10 3/4; 7. Trevor Morehead (C) 46-2 3/4

Discus -- 13. Zach Beel (W) 121-8

GIRLS

Local results

100 -- 3. Dakaria Johnson (K) 12.44

200 -- 5. Dakaria Johnson (K) 26.14

1600 -- 2. Bella Bowers (SC) 5:25.81

3200 -- 10. Cheyenne Wells (W) 13:21.09; 11. Hannah Shemonia (SC) 13:33.45

400 relay -- 5. Kelly (McKynlee Neumeyer, Taylor Lasater, Samantha Ratledge, Dakaria Johnson) 51.66

Pole vault -- 5. Makenzie Graham (SV) 9-3

Long jump -- 8. Samantha Ratledge (K) 16-1 1/2

Triple jump -- 12. Samantha Ratledge (K) 33-1

Shot put -- 2. Julia Sutterfield (C) 36-4 3/4

Discus -- 11. Jackie Verseman (SV) 95-0